Laura Veirs - July Flame

(Bella Union)

On July Flame, the seventh album from Portland, Oregon’s Laura Veirs, the wistful songstress takes a more stripped-down approach compared with recent efforts. Conceived from a chance summer meeting with an unusual peach at a local farmer’s market, which also spawned the album’s name and title track, July Flame is a break from a self-proclaimed songwriting slump – and a welcome one at that. Subsequently, these 13 tracks – recorded that same summer in Veirs’ own home studio or ‘the Barn’ – sound remarkably re-energised while coming off as dreamy, colourful and just as inspired as ever.